Chapter 10 Don’t Forget It
Althea turned her face to the side, heat burning her cheeks. Her chest rose and fell quickly as she struggled to catch her breath.
“It hurts,” she said softly, not meeting his gaze.
He pulled back just slightly, enough to lessen the overwhelming pressure. Still between her thighs, his hand moved to cup her jaw, forcing her to look at him.
“You should have said something,” he muttered, his voice now less harsh and edged with emotions, perhaps frustration, restraint, or even a hint of concern.
“I… I didn’t think it mattered,” she replied, voice barely audible.
A muscle in Gavriel’s jaw fluttered. His thumb brushed her bottom lip, staying there as if savouring the unspoken words.
“It matters,” he finally said, his voice a low growl. “Because if anyone’s going to ruin you, it will be me, fully aware and fully in control.”
He didn’t move away. Not entirely.
Instead, his mouth trailed down to her collarbone, his breath hot against her skin, each kiss more possessive than the last. Althea’s hands trembled, her pulse racing in her throat.
“I won’t stop,” Gavriel murmured, lips brushing the hollow of her neck. “It’ll hurt at first, but then…” He smirked against her skin, biting down just enough to make her gasp. “Then it won’t. You’ll beg me not to stop...”
She stiffened beneath him, breath caught halfway in her throat. Her fingers curled into the sheets. Every part of her screamed for air, for time, but her body… her body was betraying her, burning under his touch.
Gavriel’s hand slid between her thighs, rough yet careful, parting her slowly. She whimpered, and he caught the sound with his mouth, crushing her lips in a searing kiss, silencing her protest and swallowing her muffled cry.
She gasped into his mouth as the sharp ache returned. His fingers laced with hers, pinning her wrists above her head. His hips pressed forward, firm and unyielding.
“Breathe,” he growled against her lips. “Relax… Take it. Let your body learn who owns it.”
It was completely sheathed inside, and she felt it stretch her immensely. Tears pricked her eyes, not just from the sting but from the overwhelming intensity. She tried to turn her face, but he kissed her again, deeper, until she forgot where the pain ended and where his hunger began.
His possessiveness was intense… not gentle or tender, but claiming, marking, and consuming.
And Althea, for all her fear, for all her resistance, was still burning under the weight of it all. Her body trembled, her breath shallow, but she didn’t pull away. Not even once.
Althea hadn’t realised that pain and pleasure could blend together so effortlessly. The sting was still present, a reminder of what was being taken, but her body refused to pull away. As the pain faded, the hunger growing within her only intensified.
He was correct, because her body urged him to keep going and not to stop at any point.
Gavriel’s grip on her waist was firm, possessive, holding her in place as his body moved against hers. His pace was relentless, sharp with intent, yet steady, as if daring her to break, to shout, to run… but she didn’t.
Instead, she arched into him, her breath hitching, her voice caught between a gasp and a moan. “Gavriel…” His name slipped from her lips like a prayer and a curse all at once.
Gavriel’s eyes darkened. “You feel it, don’t you?” he growled near her ear. “That coil deep in your belly is tightening around me. You were made for this… made for me.”
She shuddered beneath him, heat flooding through her despite the tension knotting in her core. He was relentless, like he was proving something. Like she was no longer just a woman beneath a king, but something more dangerous... His.
“You’re perfect like this,” Gavriel muttered, his voice rough and low. “So tight. So responsive. Even when your body’s trembling, it still begs for me.”
Her nails dug into his shoulders, but he didn’t flinch. His lips found her throat again, not soft or tender, but branding, claiming. “I’m not finished with you,” he warned, and she could feel how true that was in every deep, punishing roll of his hips. “Not until you forget who you were before I touched you.”
Althea’s thoughts scattered. She felt something sharp, hot, and growing. She wasn’t sure what to fear more: the Alpha King’s ruthless dominance… or how much she was starting to crave it.
Althea’s body trembled, her breath hitching as waves of sensation overtook her. The line between pain and pleasure blurred, coiling tighter within her until it snapped. Her back arched, a gasp escaping her lips, his name. Her fingers gripped his arms, grounding herself as her body gave in, shuddering from the intensity.
Gavriel stilled for a heartbeat.
His eyes were locked on her, stormy and dark with desire, but something else flickered in them too - primal satisfaction, possessiveness, and an emotion so sharp it nearly burned.
“That’s it,” he growled lowly. “That’s what I wanted to see. You, undone… for me.”
He moved again, deeper, rougher, chasing his own release now with calculated purpose. Each motion was deliberate, powerful. His breath grew heavier, his restraint slipping with every second.
Althea was still trembling beneath him, flushed, dazed, claimed.
“Perfect,” Gavriel rasped, his voice low, like gravel scraping against silk. “You were made for this. For me.”
A few more relentless thrusts, and Gavriel’s control broke. He let out a deep, guttural sound as his body tensed. His grip on her tightened, possessive and firm, as he held her close through his own powerful release, buried deep in the woman fate had dared to tie him to.
Then, for a fleeting moment, silence settled. Only the sound of their hearts racing and the heavy presence of unspoken words lingered in the air.
His head dipped, lips grazing her shoulder, not gently, but as if branding her. “You’re mine, Althea,” he repeated, his voice coarse. “Don’t forget it.”